


You see what no one else can see

by conching



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Mileven Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 11:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12840024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conching/pseuds/conching
Summary: His gaze is locked on hers as both scramble for what to do next, and his heart does somersaults against his chest.This is how it happens in Nancy’s movies. It’s going to happen, oh my god,he thinks.





	You see what no one else can see

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from Sheena Easton's 'For Your Eyes Only.'
> 
> Dislaimer: None of the characters are mine. Spoken dialogues are taken from the Netflix series. All of those belong to the Duffer brothers.

Her gaze is locked on the freckles on his cheeks, absentmindedly counting them one by one as he rubs gently at the grime on her face with a washcloth.

She searches for a tick, a wrinkle—anything that would give disappointment or anger away.

She fails to find any.

 _This is Mike_ , she thinks, _Mike is good, Mike is home_.

“That’s better.”

She looks at her reflection in the mirror, tears welling in her eyes. Crying would do her no good, she thinks. It didn’t make her Papa stop, and it didn’t make the bad dreams go away.

She brings a hand up, gently stroking the fuzzy curve of her head. Slowly, she lets her hand fall, relishing in the memory of blonde locks combed through her fingers. Hot tears sting her eyes again as she remembers the time, if only more than a few hours, when she blended in like a regular girl at his school.

As if by cue, Mike speaks.

“You don’t need it.”

She doesn’t believe him, so she opens her mouth to ask.

“Still pretty?”

She turns to him, slowly but surely. _Friends don’t lie_ , she thinks as she braces herself for what he would say.

He blinks at her, heart skipping a beat at her expectant doe eyes, pausing for a few seconds before speaking. _She’s so much more than just pretty_ , he thinks. He tries to put it in flowery words but he settles with what she would understand best.

His heart skips a beat when he realizes that a second or two is too long for him to think of an answer to something so elementary.

“Pretty.”

The word sounds too rushed and too short on his tongue.

“Really pretty.”

She has a ghost of a smile on her lips when she looks back at herself in the mirror. She may not look like the other girls, but he found her pretty and it was enough to push away her doubts.

His eyes find the floor as he contemplates for a quarter of a second about what else to say.

 _It should be perfect_ , he thinks as he scrunches up his nose.

“El?”

She turns her whole body to look at him square in the eyes.

“Yes?”

Confrontations in the past urge his reflexes to avert his gaze to his shoes. He takes a deep breath before he brings himself to look at her again.

“Um, I’m happy your home.”

“Me, too.” She smiles softly at him.

He doesn’t know what happens next, but as if they had a mind of their own, his feet took small, unsure steps towards her.

She feels a tug at her heartstrings and she mirrors his movement. She isn’t sure what pulls her to him, but it doesn’t feel wrong and she lets it happen.

His gaze is locked on hers as both scramble for what to do next, and his heart does somersaults against his chest. _This is how it happens in Nancy’s movies. It’s going to happen, oh my god_ , he thinks.

Dustin barges in.

“Guys! It’s Lucas. I think he’s in trouble.”

Mike lets out a breath unconsciously held in. His thoughts swirl around in his head swimmingly as he tastes the sweetness of what could have been in the air that flooded his lungs.

 _It could wait_ , he thinks.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for a Tumblr entry tagged under Day 1 of Mileven Week 2016.  
> Link here: https://demogorgonzola.tumblr.com/post/157058754627/you-see-what-no-one-else-can-see


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